


The Best Timeline Jump Yet

by KrakenMo (goldenKnife)



Category: Dreaming of Sunshine - Silver Queen
Genre: Accidental regime change, BAMF Sasuke, BAMF Shikako, Found Family Is The best Family, Gen, Hatake-mother for the Senju Brothers, Impending offscreen character death, Itama Lives in the most technical way, Iterative time travel, Kakashi Sensei is Less sad but also (mentioned), Morino Idate (mentioned- don’t worry he’s not the one dying), Multiple time travelers, Ninja tiger tho, Non-explicit Eye Trauma, Self Indulgent Exchange fic, Senju Tobirama Needs a Hug, Team Seven is a Share-Alike Family Co-Op, Team Seven typical serial escalation, Terrible Father for the Senju Brothers, Though neither is sure of that at first, Tiger attacks are traditional in this microgenre, Time Travel, Time Travel- Fixing it, Warring Clans Era-centric, We’re Making Peace, the tigers are fine
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-30
Updated: 2020-05-30
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:08:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,428
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24404824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/goldenKnife/pseuds/KrakenMo
Summary: The Seal was supposed to put you "where you can do the most good." But that's too flexible when Space is also Time. The importance of an off button is also criminally under-appreciated.Each time she gets dropped into the past, Shikako uses her knowledge of the Plot to nudge events, but the best intentions can't control for butterflies. All she can do is try to help every time it happens.Meanwhile, Sasuke remembers every life jump and is doing his best, but things have gotten pretty weird.When the Seal finally brings them back together, The Warring Clans Era is not prepared.
Relationships: Nara Shikako & Hatake Sakumo, Nara Shikako & Senju Tobirama (future), Nara Shikako & Uchiha Madara, Nara Shikako & Uchiha Madara & Uchiha Izuna, Nara Shikako & Uchiha Sasuke, Nara Shikako & Uchiha Shisui, Uchiha Sasuke & Senju Tobirama
Comments: 23
Kudos: 630
Collections: Exchange no Jutsu 2020, Heliocentrism — a Dreaming of Sunshine recursive collection





	The Best Timeline Jump Yet

**Author's Note:**

  * For [KuroHikaTsuchi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KuroHikaTsuchi/gifts).



> I was looking at various requests when I started this, so this is for KuroHikaTsuchi but if you see a glancing hit at something you requested, well there's a reason for that.

The problem was that she intended the seal to take her where she was most needed- Space-time seals continued to vex her. Madara Uchiha was surprisingly understanding when she ranted about it. She’d landed in his house and he’d accepted her explanation with a nod and a mutter about the Sage looking after Fools and Naras. 

She decided to let that go, since he was a terrifying force of chakra and focus currently serving her tea and sweets. 

They were in a relatively young Konoha, the Uchiha housing clustering to the east of the Administration center with the new-built police station placing her more precisely in time. Political pressures on the Uchiha would only get worse from here. Perhaps she could do something?

Madara doesn’t ask her about the future. He asks how he can help her. It’s a crucial difference that makes her want to help him, so she talks about what she knows. About the fissures, about murky politics, imbalances, what she knows of the history that hasn’t been distorted by propaganda. 

When the Seal whisks her away in mid-sentence, she can only hope that it’s enough. 

  
_When she returned, she looked for signs of a change. If there is one, it's not obvious.  
_

_She eventually finds it unrolled and unreadable on Sasuke’s desk and on his walls- carefully preserved scrolls written by Madara before he left, “For the orphans.”_

_“There’s a lot of good stuff here, but it was locked up for years because Madara. But when I needed my clan’s education, there was no one to tell me no.”_

_“Read some to me?”_

_“Of course, what’s mine is yours.”_  
  


The next time Shikako finds herself back in time was a complete surprise: she hasn’t done anything with the Malfunctioning Hero Seal in several weeks, and at first she thinks it’s a dream. She doesn’t recognize the forest clearing where she’s landed until she completely circled the stone in the center- it looks different with the boulder intact and without Sasuke’s rage painting every surface with pain. The targets are less weathered, but not new. She’s up a tree to get a better look at the Hokage Mountain when her senses warn her of an incoming Shunshin. 

“Getting started without- oh hello I didn’t know we had a guest today,” the cheerful voice switched gears from mock outraged to friendly without missing a beat, “I’m Shisui, who might you be? I’m sorry but Itachi didn’t mention inviting anyone.”

Shikako felt her brain kick into high gear as she suppressed her shudder, considered her options and decided on the truth, “Shikako Nara, and I’m actually friends with Sasuke.” Shisui was the Uchiha’s canary of death- if he was still alive then she was back in time again, Sasuke’s clan was still alive, and most importantly she wasn’t a child no one would believe. 

“Little Cousin holding out on me! Making friends with deadly older kunoichi without telling anyone, no doubt planning extra training behind our backs,” Shisui pressed a hand to his heart, “How will I handle such betrayal?”

Shikako can recognize a straight line when the universe gives her one, so she says, “About that-”

She has longer this time, almost a full day and night to tell her story and help him gather the evidence to prove it to the rest of the Uchiha. This time she can feel the seal starting to tug at her. 

Shikako manages to give and get a quick goodbye hug before she’s back in her own time. 

  
  
_When she got back the Uchiha were still gone, infamous for the whole clan disappearing overnight like ghosts._

_She’s still on Team Seven with Naruto but their third is Idate Morino, somehow._

_She meets two sets of familiar dark eyes standing at Gaara’s back at the Kage meeting the next day, and wonders for a moment if either Shisui or Sasuke recognize her._

_She doesn’t get a chance to check before the seal takes her back again._  
  


Shikako packed the various ninja tools away into hammerspace- she could give them to one of the neighbors for safe keeping later, “You know what makes me feel better when the world is crap? Feeding the animals.”

Sakumo Hatake blinked at her, but obediently got up from the kotatsu and followed her out into the sunlight. He blinked at the brightness, as if coming out of a dream. 

The White Fang of Konoha did not die that day, and not for many years thereafter.

  
  
_She wonders what’s changed for all of three hours this time._

_Sensei summons his pack and there are ten dogs. She recognizes two of them as Sakumo’s._

_In the new memories, Sensei’s heart is still full of cracks, but it’s not as broken. He brings them to his father for Kenjutsu lessons._

_Idate has the Sword of the Thunder God now, but Shikako likes her chakra saber- it was made for her hands._

  
The last time Shikako goes back was months later and she comes to her senses on the bank of a river. Everyone was shouting, chakra was flaring, and it takes some time to sort out who and what. She’s on the same bank as several Uchiha, Madara the most recognizable despite his young age- but also his father and brother from the context of the shouting. There was a moment of dissonance, and she knows that for now, they are her brothers too. 

Across the river but still engaged in the shouting are the Senju- Hashirama with his terrible haircut, and what from the resemblance can only be his father; further back Tobirama and another boy with light hair were lurking. The shortest Senju was staring across the water at her with a familiar half-frown, despite the shape of his face distorting the expression into a more quizzical look. She made the Anbu signs for /Rendezvous at dusk/ and the boy responded by tossing his head and signing back /Agreed, at dusk./

Of course that’s easier said than done- her temporary father Tajima feels the need to lecture all of them about the dangers of trusting any Senju even an inch. This was mostly a lecture aimed to break Madara, but ‘Nakano’ and Izuna get their share of glares. Shikako may deserve them for what she’s planning, but Tajima doesn’t know that. After they are dismissed, she waited for Izuna to storm off before approaching Madara and offering what comfort she can. He seems more inclined to wallow in misery and self-recrimination than to listening, but he does thank her. Brothers can be so dramatic. She gets the feeling she’ll have many more opportunities to change his attitude, so she doesn’t stress too much about it.

Unfortunately, Nakano has cooking responsibilities that Shikako has to attend to before she can go, but very quickly she’s the only one in the clan hall, so she can pull a few useful items from the hammerspace seal that thankfully transferred onto her temporary body. She makes a note to practice in case she ever has to cook while observed. Dinner was incredibly tense, the only conversation a bit of banter she and Izuna manage over the sauce. She was glad of the excuse of doing the dishes at the stream to escape. 

Full speed Anbu stealth was harder in this body, her chakra control wasn’t as precise as she’s used to, but she managed to make her way back to the river much faster than their journey earlier in the day. The shortest Senju brother was waiting for her, sitting in the shadow of a boulder on the edge of the water. 

“On our first red mission, we danced with seven swords and broke the waves,” she recited, hopeful. 

“On _Your_ first red mission, we dodged eight swords and flowed with the earth river,” he corrected her in a delighted sing-song, “Hey Kako, been a while.”

“Sasuke,” she breathed, and tried to understand how the Sasuke who was her genin teammate and Anbu captain and best friend can still exist when the time line has changed so much through her meddling. She walked closer, studying his expression translated through a different body- up close he looks like a round-cheeked Nidaime and she can see that his hair was actually split down his skull between dark brown and silver, not just half in shadow. The effect reminded Shikako of old silver half polished, half still dark with patina. Bemused dark gold eyes studied her in return.

“You look like my cousin back in Suna.” Sasuke closed his eyes and rubbed at his temples. “This is weird. Which time line do you remember?”

“Several,” She admits, sitting down knee to knee with him like she used to do with Ino and Sakura back in the Academy. “I messed up a seal and it keeps taking me backward in time. The first time I talked to Madara and he wrote a secret library?”

“Right,” Sasuke reached forward and flicked her in the forehead, more reminiscent of Tsunade than Itachi, “so when you did that you left the seal behind. Madara put it in one of the scrolls on Fuuinjutsu, deep down where it wouldn’t get found until someone read far enough to mostly understand what it did. But he didn’t know that it was still active, or maybe it managed to re-charge after so long waiting for someone to look at it again.” He sighed. “Some fool with a Sharingan, which was enough Chakra interaction to trigger at least part of it.”

Shikako gaped at him, “Sasuke no.”

“Sasuke yes. Well, Itama in this body.”

“Nakano,” she motioned at her short sleeved kimono with the Uchiwas on the trim, indicating her current identity. “So you remember being a ninja of Konoha and of Suna?”

“Yeah. I changed things once in Suna, so I had to redo a year, but I remember both villages,” he tapped his head, “I spotted you once after the change, but you were gone training the next day. I wasn’t sure if you remembered the old time lines or not, so it would have been weird to leave a note.”

Shikako nodded, working through the implications, “If this is when we can do the most good, then why didn’t we get sent here right away?”

“I don’t know about you, but I am so much better at earth and wind release techniques than I was- I trained with Gaara and Temari and even if I don’t have the reserves to do much, I can still do the transform,” Sasuke held out his palm and whirled a handful of pebbles in a figure eight- a harmless chakra trick, but one done with the same absent ease the Uchiha set things on fire or the Nara made shadow puppets. 

Shikako thought about her kenjutsu improvements, the water-style training with Idate, the slightly different seals she remembered developing over the different overlapping time lines as circumstances changed. But all the power in the world couldn’t derail the sort of long lasting blood feud the Uchiha and Senju had- Madara’s generation had power in spades- it hadn’t been enough. “I don’t think that’s it.”

Sasuke made a questioning sound.

“I saw you with Gaara, but you had a secretary bag, not just weapon scrolls,” she had a hunch, she could ask leading questions. 

There was the scowl she knew so well. “Kankurou likes to write and spy, but if he can push the number-crunching part of advising the ‘Kage off on someone else he absolutely will,” he dragged a hand through his hair, which doesn’t make much difference in it’s messiness, then something seemed to occur to him and he brightened, “Did you know, Kako, that Suna didn’t even have a logistics department until the Uchiha showed up to create it? ”

“No!”

“The work was done by whoever had angered the Kazekage recently, all very badly.”

“But- they’re in the middle of the desert! Staple crops don’t grow there naturally, you have to import so much- How?? I can’t-” she spluttered to a halt, not even sure where to begin on that level of stupidity. No wonder Rasa could get killed and replaced by Orochimaru and no one noticed! The village management probably mysteriously improved and no one wanted to look too closely at why. 

“They relied too much on the Daimyo for those arrangements, and when that relationship spoiled,” He made the Anbu hand sign for an explosion, a surprisingly eloquent curl and flick of the fingers. “Snakes, a very short coup-slash-war held in the middle of the Konoha Chunin exams but not with Konoha, and eventually several new treaties.”

“Why don’t I remember that?” Shikako searched her altered memories for the Konoha Crush, but there was just... hearing about Suna and Sound Shinobi attacking each other in the Forest and Finals, and a lot of people upset about disguised Uchiha infiltrating the exams despite being explicitly forbidden. 

“You weren’t there- I assumed Ibiki had a gut feeling and got you all out of the way to protect his brother.”

“He claimed we couldn’t take a test he was proctoring, I think?” Shikako furrowed her brows, but her mind filled with the memory of the second mission to Wave, not the excuse for it. 

Sasuke shrugged, then brought his hands up in a gesture stolen from the puppeteer he’d just gotten done maligning, “So Shisui, Izumi, and I are one of the teams infiltrating the Konoha exams as forgettable Suna genin, but Shisui keeps provoking this older Hyuuga because he’s an idiot adrenaline addict and our orders to _Corner and Expose Orochimaru_ aren’t enough for-” he cut himself off, shoving them apart with a burst of chakra channeled into their knees and the earth under them. 

Shikako rolled with the momentum of the push, adding her own roll to come back up in a crouch a few meters away as a tiger came down on where they’d been sitting. Something about the proportions are off- it’s twice her reduced size, but the paws are almost comically oversized- maybe it was a juvenile of the giant tigers from the Forest of Death? She hadn’t been able to pick out its chakra from the background noise- that wouldn’t do at all- but now it was in the open and exposed, chakra blazing and movements easy to predict as it lashed out at Sasuke and he threw himself sideways to dodge- almost but not quite fast enough. 

When she channeled chakra into her saber it came out sparking and hot, a sharp contrast to the cool cutting edge she was used to, but fine against a tiger. The flare of sparks in the rapidly waning light distracted the giant predator from swiping at Sasuke again, and she waved the sword as she circled. 

From the other side Sasuke flashed through hand signs (Tiger-Bird-half-Boar) and slammed one hand to the earth- instead of a summon, he called up sand and dirt from the riverbank to wrap around the tiger’s legs. It wasn’t as good as a shadow-bind, but with three out of four legs immobilized she only had to avoid the teeth and one rear leg-

“Down!” Sasuke yelled and Shikako dove off the tiger’s back without question or thought. The whistle of a wild wind jutsu going over her head mixed with the snarl of rage from a very angry mama tiger kicked her adrenaline up another notch. 

Mama Tiger landed on top of the river instead of falling in and Shikako bit down on a string of curses. Their child bodies just weren’t as fast as she was used to, they couldn’t just rush in. Sasuke’s shoulder was bleeding but it didn’t look serious, the cloth he shoved over it and held in place with chakra hadn’t soaked through yet, but too much running around would change that. She adjusted her grip on her sword, looking around for better ground for this fight- the trees might be a better choice for this, even if her fire jutsu was mostly low level or theoretical. 

Next to her, Sasuke took a long inhale and then shifted his stance from ready to spring to almost theatrical surrender, shoulders going soft and rounded, hands down and out and as he carefully stepped around her. A foot scuffed along the ground and a small release of chakra pulled the restraints that had continued growing up the younger tiger’s legs back down into the earth. 

The baby scrambled away from them and back to its mother, though it didn’t have the chakra control to walk on the water yet. The Mama stared at the two child-sized Shinobi, not mollified but not attacking. 

“Glance away, Kako, staring is a challenge,” Sasuke hissed, and then added, “And turn off your Sharingan unless you want to pass out.”

She hadn’t properly noticed during fight, but the world was fully detailed and alive with chakra in a way it hadn’t been since she landed this time. Shikako closed her eyes, focused on the chakra flowing to her optical nerves and pinched it down- the chakra drain cut off and the world dimmed, and not just because of the onrushing night. She needed to spend some time getting to know this body’s limits and working on her Sensing so she wouldn’t get blind sided again. 

Blind sided by things like Sasuke approaching the mother tiger as if she were a stray cat that might allow pets with the right bribes. And Mama was approaching him with the same cautious curiosity- _what?_

Shikako let go of the chakra flowing to her sword and felt even lighter- chakra capacity was another thing that would take time to build, but watching Sasuke offer his hands to the chakra-using tiger for inspection, and then the giant cat’s approving head butt nearly knock him over before he swayed with it and reached up to rub her ears, she realized why they’re here. Together they can make friends with nearly anyone; with the collection of skills they have now they might survive trying. 

Tobirama appeared on the far side of the river half a breath before Madara and Izuna burst from the woods behind her, and she only had a moment to sink to her knees and wink at Sasuke before she had to cry in false-earnest, “But Tou-sama says the Senju are all scum, why did you save me?”

“We’re not all bad, you can’t believe that!” Sasuke-Itama was just as aware of their audience, but his old awkwardness with pretense was gone, “We’re not that different.” He shifted, still leaning against the tigeress’ neck as he turned to look at his older brother. “Sorry to worry you, Anija.”

Tobirama makes a vague noise, but most of his attention was on the Uchiha. 

All of the older brothers were reluctant to approach the river too closely, entirely because the two giant tigers were not standing down, merely shifting the target of their interest. Madara was slowly edging closer, no doubt intending to grab her and retreat back to the trees. 

Shikako decided to take advantage of the hesitation to pull out one of her hair ribbons and lob it at Sasuke, “I, Uchiha Nakano, Owe you a Debt, Senju Itama. I intend to repay it, so don’t die until I can, got it?” She glared across the few yards separating them, knowing that it would soon be miles and how much harder arranging future meetings had just become. 

“You’d better stay alive to keep your promise then,” he shot back, tucking the ribbon into his sleeve pocket for safekeeping. /Rule One./ he added in Sign with the same movement, and she smiled because some things don’t change, no matter how many alterations they make to the time line.

She let Madara snatch her up then, though he’s not enough bigger to carry her very far before he had to try for a better grip and she wriggled free. 

Izuna grabbed her shoulders and shook like it might produce the answers he wanted, “What were you thinking, Imouto? You could of died! And what was that Senju doing with a giant tiger summon to make you think he saved you?”

“She’s not his summons, they were wild! The baby attacked us, and Itama-kun got hurt when he pushed me out of the way,” She grabbed Izuna’s shoulders in return, letting a little Chakra flow to her eyes and spin her Sharingan up for an instant, “Izuna-nii, we fought the baby together and trapped it but when the Mother showed up I only barely dodged. He tossed her away with a wind jutsu before she got me. She still could have attacked us; we weren’t winning. I was too scared to do anything, but Itama-kun made peace with the _tigers_.”

Madara seemed to caught by her words to respond yet, while Izuna focused on her eyes, just as planned. “Did you just activate your Sharingan?”

“Yes,” She stuck her chin up, daring him to second guess any part of her story when most of it had happened under photographic memory recording. She sort of wished she had tiger hugs, rather than a less than stellar fight and tiger glares forever burned into this brain, but her luck had never been particularly good. But she did copy a new earth jutsu to try out later- the irony of copying a jutsu from Sasuke was too good, she grinned despite herself. Izuna scowled at her delight, and his resemblance to the original Sasuke was too close for her to take it seriously- her grin widened, perhaps with a bit of smirk. 

“So you went looking for your lost hair ribbon at the river, woke your Sharingan while trying to fight and then flee a giant tiger, and thankfully we caught up to you and were able to drive it off before you got hurt,” Madara said with a grim determination and a challenging look leveled at Izuna, “Father will be pleased about your eyes, hopefully it will balance out sneaking off without permission.”

Izuna’s eyes shifted between them, unsure for the first time in this conversation. Shikako slid out from under his hands to stand next to Madara, trying to radiate her thankfulness to him without being too obvious about it. Against their united front, Izuna caved like wet paper.

Tajima predictably wasn’t happy but channeled his feelings into grueling lessons for all of them, perhaps working on the principle that exhaustion would keep them from unauthorized mischief. Shikako used the time to adjust to her new body, to retune her Sensing to the current limits of her body and chakra system- woefully small compared to what she had grown used to, but showing steady improvement- and bond with her new brothers. 

Madara was withdrawn, but it wasn’t hard to lure him out of his sulks with questions about fire jutsu. Shikako couldn’t ask about Hashirama while they were confined to the Uchiha compound and so closely observed, but slightly modified versions of her village inefficiencies rants made him smile. Getting him to join in took days, but she had the sinking feeling she’ll have a lot of days.

Izuna on the other hand displayed a sort of concentrated bitterness and nihilism Shikako hasn’t encountered since the first time with Inari- too bad for him that she does not have the local attachment to dignity and was willing to inject joy into his life by direct action. Uchiha stoicism was not immune to hugs or games, and losing just pushed him to try harder. 

The more she interacted with them and the other Uchiha, the more of the Nakano memories solidified and rose to the surface when she needs to know who someone was or how to perform some chore. She worked out that some of it was muscle memory, some cuing off familiar surroundings, and some of it was probably the adjustment from a Nara brain to an Uchiha one. Even without her Sharingan active, her current brain had exceptional visual and spatial reasoning, allowing her to realize where the hidden closet of history scrolls was located from casual cleaning and no thought of searching for such a cache. Retracing her steps to anywhere she’s been in the compound was laughably easy, after a few days she could build a bird’s eye model despite never having seen the place from above. It’s... different. But not bad. She hasn’t lost her ability for plotting possibilities from limited information after all. 

The Uchiha are angry, but also caught in their own grief. It would take a miracle for them to make the opening move toward peace. A miracle, or perhaps a better story. She needed to talk to Sasuke, see how things stood with the Senju. 

In the meantime, she eavesdropped. The Senju were surprisingly quiet for two weeks- the consensus was that they must be plotting something particularly nefarious. Extra patrols were sent, but found that the Senju patrols had pulled back to their own territory and were reluctant to engage. Odd, but who knew what Sasuke was up to over there? She wished again for a summons that could deliver messages discreetly. 

Then a messenger arrived with formal request for a cease fire and meeting from Senju Rouka, interim clan head. _Interesting._

* * *

Tobirama knew both of his surviving brothers had changed after Kuwarama’s death, but it had been easier to focus on Hashirama’s distance and secrecy when Itama had reacted by holding closer to those he cared about. Father did not approve of clinginess or emotionalism, but Itama had fallen into a habit of shadowing and assisting various clan members with their work or training and reaped the rewards in both skill and affection. He still pressed close when the nights turned cold, and Tobirama took comfort from the soft cheek against his shoulder. Itama was perfectly open about seeking distraction and comfort, if you knew what to look for- Hashirama’s failure to cope even after months was obviously more pressing and problematic. 

Of course, the eventual return of Hashirama’s happiness had not ended his tendency to disappear, so Tobirama had persisted in his investigation when he could. He hadn’t intended for Itama to be present when his father confronted the remains of the entire Uchiha head family, but he was surprisingly hard to shake these days. 

When they returned, Butsuma focused most of his ire on his eldest son, but did not spare the others the blast of his yelling. Hashirama’s attempts to defend himself only fueled Father’s rage, and Tobirama was dragged in for his part in the reveal. 

At the end of that confrontation Itama alone was contained, his chakra pulled back so far that Tobirama couldn’t read it past the betrayal and outrage filling the room. After Butsuma had finished with them and left, Itama latched onto Hashirama’s back before he too could storm out- Hashi stopped, and Itama had made his soft demand, “Remember you love each other, under the anger. Please.”

Hashirama shook him off and continued out of the house, to the general peril of any training partner or target in his path. 

Itama had looked at him then, and Tobirama for the first time felt small under his younger brother’s gaze. But the things Hashirama had said- “Not today, Otouto.”

Itama had loosed his tight control of his chakra just to make sure Tobirama knew he was Not Impressed, but that had been the end of the argument. 

They should have taken a few days to let tempers cool, but Tobirama realized after sunset than Itama’s chakra wasn’t anywhere in or around the compound. He focused and found a slight trail leading back toward the river, fresher than the traces left by Father and Hashirama but along the same line- a lesser tracker and sensor would have been fooled, but Tobirama still had some tricks on his little brother. 

About halfway along the trail he felt the surge of both his brother’s chakra and an Uchiha at the river and started running. 

He expected fire and blood- instead Itama’s chakra was tangled up with a pair of giant tigers and the Uchiha have multiplied from one to three but no one was fighting anyone else. Apparently they weren’t fighting each other, but the tigers?

Itama’s apology was entirely insufficient, but expressing his feelings can wait until they aren’t outnumbered by Uchiha. Though from Izuna’s expression he at least recognized the disadvantages of challenging Tobirama next to a river, Giant Tigers not withstanding. 

Then Uchiha Nakano declared her debt and favor, and his idiot brother accepted it. **What.**

At least her brothers had taken her and themselves away before the reckless pair could go any further into madness. 

Itama’s new Tigress friend would still be a problem, but it was a problem that Tobirama had some context for. Their mother had been a Hatake before her marriage, and had told him stories about how some of the earliest Summon contracts had been made. Not all chakra-using beasts lived in the spirit realms, and those who lived or were trapped in the physical world would sometimes seek out and test a Summoner. The Hatake were one of the clans especially attuned to beast chakra, and more likely to be accepted by non-contracted summons. Some of those contracts would include the larger clan of beasts and the beast would move back to the spiritual realm once they made a chakra connection, while some beasts would simply live as companions to their chosen human. Still, Tobirama moved closer in case this wasn’t a true bonding but just a case of temporary hypnotism. 

After the departure of the Uchiha Itama didn’t say anything, just held onto his tigeress’ neck and pushed out a sort of positive counterpart to killing intent, a wash of affection and acceptance that wrapped Tobirama’s senses in warmth and care, like mother’s hugs. He closed his eyes to focus on it, so he felt rather than watched as the smaller tiger pressed close to Itama and some subtle imbalance in his chakra settled as Itama shared his own dualistic energy with the beast. 

“Lets go home, Anija.” Itama had climbed onto the larger tiger’s back and was offering him a hand up. Apparently the tigers were going to be accompanying them back to the compound. There would be no hiding this excursion from their father. 

Tobirama took his brother’s hand- getting left behind now would be worse than not showing up at all. 

In retrospect, it wasn’t surprising. Father and Hashirama had been waiting for them to return, along with several other clan members; even before he and Itama dismounted it was clear that an example was going to be made. 

The problem was that the smaller tiger, which Itama was incongruously decided to call Nozomi, had disappeared from sight about halfway back to the compound. Tobirama could tell where he was, and Itama and the mother- Yoake, a name that at least honored her color- didn’t seem concerned, so he hadn’t thought much of it. 

Butsuma had correctly judged the instigator of this unauthorized wandering with a single look and slapped Itama hard enough to knock him back into Tobirama as soon as his feet touched the ground. Father’s rage was a coherent thing around him, and he opened his mouth to begin a scathing rebuke when Nozomi attacked from ambush. 

Father was an excellent ninja, but he wasn’t wearing his combat armor- ivory claws enhanced with chakra ripped right through his haori as he was born down under the tiger’s weight. With a surge of earth chakra and battle roar, Father was able to throw Nozomi off and draw himself back to his knees- that’s when then Yoake took one precise paw swipe at his face and he went down for good. 

Several warriors on guard duty rushed forward to attack, but Itama slapped his hands together as he leapt onto the Yoake’s back, summoning bright sparks of lightning in both hands and lighting up the yard, “Hold! Hold, or the medics will curse you all for fools.” The crack of authority was new, but the Senju clan respected strength even in the young. Everyone paused. Itama glared around, ignoring the muffled cries of their father as one of the braver medics risked getting into claw swipe range to check his injuries. “Anyone else going to be stupid enough to attack me or my new summons?

The question hung in the air for several breaths before their cousin Touka changed the grip on her naginata from a low guard to formal presentation and bowed, “I will not, Itama-sama.”

Her father, their uncle Rouka, was only a moment behind in sheathing his sword and bowing, though not as low, since he out ranked them in most ways, “Nor I, Itama-san.” 

That was enough for the rest of the warriors to stand down, and Tobirama breathed. Itama let go of the lightning gathered in his palms with a final pop and carefully dropped from standing atop Yoake’s back to standing beside her once more. Hashirama approached to a respectful distance, his expression and chakra a mess of mixed emotions as he edged closer and received a growl from Nozomi. Tobirama chose not to move toward or away from the mass of furry death, not sure how movement would be interpreted.

Itama reassured both the tigers with long strokes over their heads and whispers that quieted the growls and the lashing tails after a few tense moments. After they settled Itama motioned Tobirama, Touka, and Rouka closer, and Hashirama considered himself invited by default. They all stepped around Butsuma and the two healers now checking his injuries. 

Rouka was the first to speak, “Was this a challenge, Itama-san?”

“I didn’t plan to, but Father was stupid,” his voice was dry as the salt flats of Suna. “I don’t think he’s fit to lead, Uncle. But we’re not old enough yet.” Itama glanced at Hashirama, but whatever passed between them, his eldest brother does not contradict the youngest in this moment. 

“I can see the difficulty,” Uncle said, tone serious but not condemning. 

“I’d like you to take over, at least until we know if father will recover,” Itama paused, picking his words carefully as he stared up into their uncle’s eyes, “but I have some things I need you to read, and to talk about, before we get into any more fights.”

“In the morning then, Itama-san. We can go over clan matters over breakfast and then over these documents.”

“Thank you.”

Only then does the junior healer interrupt with the initial report on Father’s condition- bleak. He’d be in the healer’s hall for some time. The healer reported this to all of them, but the look she leveled at Tobirama was a clear question- Would he stay at his father’s side, or not?

Tobirama ignored the look, following his brothers back to their home. 

Itama brought his older brothers along to his breakfast with Uncle Rouka, who seemed to expect them all from the amount of food in the kettle. In a reversal of the usual precedents and their old dynamic, Itama did not defer to either Hashirama or Tobirama to lead the conversation. He talked over the reports Rouka had received from various squad leaders overnight, startling Tobirama with his knowledge of the leadership and composition of the different Senju squads and vassal households. From the familiarity of the conversation and the easy banter her traded with Touka, it was likely not the first time. 

Once the food was cleared away and a fresh pot of simple tea brewing, Itama withdrew three scrolls from his haori and laid them in a row. He took a deep breath, gathering himself before he launched into his proposal: peace, prosperity, and a plan for how they might get there. 

Tobirama blinked. Hashirama stared, tears gathering in the corners of his eyes. 

Uncle Rouka looked interested, and motioned for him to continue.

Itama had diligently attended the sessions of studying history and religion that should have been for all four brothers but of late held only two, and it’s only in retrospect that Tobirama sees the pattern of his interest: the first scroll detailed the religious and historical precedents to ending a generations long blood feud without dishonoring the dead, ending with a precise ethical premise deeply rooted in both traditional religions. 

The second scroll held an outline of how a peace with the Uchiha might be pursued, with lessons from history and citing examples of treaties. Itama emphasized that while the Uchiha didn’t marry out, but they did sometimes adopt outsiders as honorary siblings.

Hashirama had almost squeaked in his excitement at this idea, but Tobirama noticed Itama rubbing the narrow strip of silk tied around his wrist and thought he might have someone else in mind for this duty. 

The third scroll had several ideas for ways to use their chakra skills to make money other than through war, as well as a analysis of trade routes that they might take advantage of- the third scroll was yet incomplete, he explained. 

These had clearly been Itama’s consuming focus of the long months between Kuwarama’s death and now. 

Uncle Rouka nodded his approval as he finished skimming the third scroll and started a more detailed examination of the second, "I agree that your chakra economics monograph isn't done, but your other ideas are sound and well argued. I see no reason not to try. I trust you have already started on convincing the clan?"

"Yes, Uncle," Itama bowed his head a little, but he was smiling, "with your permission, I will continue."

"Was that not what I said? I expect you to explain to your brothers so they can help."

"Of course."

Hashirama shuffled around until he could wrap Itama in a hug from behind, which Itama allowed but it’s Tobirama that he looked at with worry. “Do you remember, when you said we couldn’t think about revenge for the dead?” he waited for Tobirama’s nod, “I tried to find a way we could honor our past, our present, and our future, Anija. I believe we can, without killing our hearts.”

Tobirama inclined his head, “I am convinced.”

Hashirama took that as tacit permission to add Tobirama to the brother hug through whatever means necessary. They were only saved by Nozomi's impatient battering at the door and Uncle Rouka's insistence that they go feed the tigers. 

The next few days were strange. Yoake had a baffling ability to fit through doorways and shrink to a size more reasonable for keeping her new partner company on their futon, but out of doors she preferred to remain the size of a cottage. Nozomi enjoyed surprising people- he was rapidly adapting his stealth to human dwellings as well as the forest. Both summons insisted that one should keep Itama in sight or earshot at all times, and anyone who approached him in anger was met with snarled objections that could be heard by half the compound. Several warriors who didn't like Itama's peace proposal were given the choice to act like adults or take it up with the complaints department headed up by Yoake with Hashirama as her willing second. With her claws sheathed the tigress was still more than capable of handing out bruises and reducing egos in the name of peace. 

Altogether, the rest of the clan was adjusting to the presence of two nin-tigers with admirable speed. 

Of course, the alternative had been made messily clear. The wounds on Father’s back were bad- deep tears of muscle that may be infected despite the quick care, a puncture to one kidney from a chakra-claw, tendons in his shoulders shredded along with flesh. The wounds to his head were exacting and terrible- the chances of his left eye ever functioning again were slim, and the right was also damaged- the rest of his face was a mass of broken bones and gashes that the healers would try to reconstruct once the inflammation went down, assuming that he survived the fever and swelling of his brain. Even their best healers refused to make a prediction. 

Tobirama wondered that he felt more numb relief than upset at how hurt his father was. Father was the source of so many of his drives in life, the need to appease his demands unceasing. But Tobirama had felt the cold snap of Itama’s outrage when the slap landed, and the lightning-fast exchange of question and permission in chakra before Yoake had struck. Nozomi had acted in emotional vengeance for the slight against his partner, but Itama had allowed the blinding and possible brain damage, which were more likely to kill. 

It was hard to put his kind-hearted brother together in his mind with Destroyer of their Father; even if he survived his wounds the man would never be the same. 

Hashirama was not the only one who had changed since Kuwarama died; Tobirama wondered what else he had missed. He resolved to watch more closely. 

When Itama asked him to help select gifts for the upcoming peace talks, Tobirama said yes. 

* * *

Shikako did not care for her formal wear, but at least she could move well enough in it. The correctly sized kimono that the Uchiha had on hand was woven of strong silk, but her real defense in a fight would be dodging, a task made more realistic by her Sharingan. The sleeves had pockets, but she was expected to store most of her arsenal in the Obi. She preferred hammerspace, but let the aunties show her the tricks anyway: knowing how to hide things would make her better at spotting them.

Tajima would never have brought her along except that the letter requested her presence, and offered some fairly strong assurances of safe passage- namely that the Akimichi hosting would not tolerate anyone disrupting the peace of their table, not even the ones who asked them to host in the first place. Madara and Izuna were of course brought along to learn about negotiations and to supplement the fighting force of their guards. Their formal wear was closer to their fighting gear, and she felt a twang of outrage at the injustice of it. She was as good as Izuna, even if her chakra reserves still needed work. She released her feelings by tormenting Izuna during the trip. It would sharpen his skills. 

Shikako was familiar with the tricks they were using and sensed the tigers, so she managed _not_ to jump when one poked its head out of the manor gate and yawned before the Uchiha could knock. 

Maybe this wouldn’t be as bad as she thought.

Itama-Sasuke turned the tiger from menacing them with a poke to her shoulder and greeted their party with droll formality. He was dressed in the Senju version of formal wear, and to her under-trained eye his haori and hakama looked just a bit more fine than that of his older brothers, who waited with an older man on the genkan. 

Madara mouthed at her, _"Not his Summons?"_ but she ignored him and kept smiling- when they'd fought the tigers it had been true, even if that had changed in the last two weeks.

After the introductions were made and tea ceremoniously prepared and drunk, Senju Rouka engaged Uchiha Tajima in properly polite circling around the point, while Sasuke-tama and Shi-kano sat to the side and communicated via slow hand signs half hidden in their sleeves. 

/Why temp boss?/

/Old boss did stupid, got mauled by tiger, dying. I got promoted?/

Shikako bit the inside of her lip to keep from laughing- that would give away the game. /Why meeting now?/

/Peace talks./

/Rushed??/ she repeated the gesture for emphasis.

/Working plan for 8 months, it’s a Long-Con,/ Sasuke motioned obliquely at the scrolls at Rouka’s left, ready for reference, /Playbook./

Shikako realized with silent horror that Sasuke had been playing the role of Itama far longer than she had been Nakano, and that this instance might be much less temporary than the previous times she’d traveled in time. /Plan?/

/Adopt each other as siblings,/ Sasuke signed, a furrow between his mismatched brows as he read her expression but not the reason for it. /Long engagement before I am your platonic house cat. We can build a village, do it better! Also you get Nidaime to play with./

Shikako beamed. /Sold./ This was the _best_ time line jump, even if she needed to reinvent proper plumbing. 

**Author's Note:**

> I didn't realize they were deposing Butsuma until the tigers were halfway home, either.


End file.
